Animal Rights Group Successfully Lobbies Ban Against Children’s Pony Rides in Paris

The decision to ban pony rides followed a Paris Animaux Zoopolis petition that amassed more than 8,400 signatures.

Credit: Getty Images

Paris is putting an end to children’s pony rides within its public parks after an animal rights campaign argued that the practice was harmful to the ponies, according to Reuters.

“Ponies are not toys. Children learn nothing about them from these walks, no emotional link is created. It just turns ponies into entertainment objects,” said Amandine Sansivens of Paris Animaux Zoopolis, the group that has been pushing for the ban of the longtime tradition in Parisian parks.

The decision to ban pony rides followed a Paris Animaux Zoopolis petition that amassed more than 8,400 signatures.

“This victory in Paris represents an important step towards making society as a whole understand that animals are not toys and arriving at a world where animals are no longer exploited for leisure,” wrote Paris Animaux Zoopolis in a statement on its website, translated from French by CBS.

The ban is set to go into effect in 2025, according to Reuters.